Nigeria recovers $64.6m electricity debt from Benin, Niger Republics

The Federal Government on Monday says it had recovered 64.6 million dollars electricity debt from its international customers.

Minster of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola announced this at the 21st monthly power sector meeting in Asaba.

Fashola, in a text of his opening remark made available to journalists in Abuja, said that the money recovered was from Benin and Niger Republics.

He said that Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) would work out modalities for distribution of the fund to the value chain operators.

The Minister also announced that Rural Electrification Agency (REA) had completed guidelines for the operation of the rural electrification fund.

He said that the fund would help vulnerable groups and communities to gain access to funding to support their electricity development programme.

“By way of explanation, the rural electrification fund was created by section 88 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) of 2005 to promote support and provide rural electrification access.

“The fund will provide a partial single payment capital subsidy and or technical assistance to eligible private Rural Power Developers, NGOs or communities to invest in options such as hybrid mini grids or solar home systems to scale up rural access to electricity.

“What they are likely to get are minimum amounts of N3.5m and maximum amounts of N106m or 75 per cent of project cost whichever is less,” he said.

According to him, REA will publish details of the guidelines and eligibility.

These, he said, were only headline items of developments that characterised the progress the government was making month after month, especially since March 2017.